Did Demand Concerns Spark The Biggest Drop In US Oil Rig Count Since 2012?

Crude Oil and gasoline prices have been sliding notably recently, but, as Carl Larry, president of Oil Outlooks & Opinions LLC in Houston notes, "the focus is definitely on the U.S. and on concern about demand as we head into the maintenance season." While Brent remains more concerned about Russia and Ukraine, WTI is "focused on supply, demand fundamentals," which with production surging, leaves "everybody wondering if demand will stay steady. People are reducing risk exposure now." What we wonder is - does that explain why the US Oil Rig Count dropped this week by its most since 2012...?

As Crude heads for its longest losing streak since November,

"WTI is weakening because we are approaching refinery turnaround season,” said Tom Finlon, Jupiter, Florida-based director of Energy Analytics Group LLC. “Refinery runs aren’t going to go up much further.”

“More oil is coming to market instead of less, and combined with weaker demand that is adding pressure,” said ABN Amro’s van Cleef.

“Chinese data has been somewhat disappointing, the euro zone has been weak, and the U.S., while better than Europe, has been mixed.”